The present invention relates generally to thickness measuring devices, and more particularly to a new and improved thickness measuring device or system, and a method of using the same, which is particularly useful in connection with the measuring or determining the thickness of individual articles, such as, for example, pieces or units of postal mail, wherein the articles may be any combination of envelopes, letters, catalogs, newspapers, magazines, greeting cards, and the like, such that an automatic mail delivery system, which delivers pieces or units of mail into sorting bins that are adapted to have mail pieces or units stacked therein up to a predetermined height or depth dimension, can stop depositing mail pieces or units into a particular sorting bin when the thickness measuring apparatus or system determines that the cumulative thickness dimensions of the detected and measured articles equals the predetermined height of the stack of mail pieces or units to be housed and contained within the particular sorting bin.
Automatic mail delivery or conveying, sorting, and stacking systems are known which deliver pieces or units of mail, such as, for example, envelopes, letters, catalogs, newspapers, magazines, greeting cards, and the like, into sorting bins that are adapted to have pieces or units of mail stacked therein up to a particular height or depth dimension. Since the amount of volume that a particular sorting been could hold, contain, or accommodate would obviously comprise a particular number of pieces or units of mail having predetermined thickness dimensions, then it would be desirable for an automatic delivery or conveying, sorting, and stacking system to predetermine the thickness dimension of each individual unit or piece of mail, as well as to track the number of individual mail pieces or units detected or scanned so that a predetermined stack of mail can in fact be deposited within a particular sorting bin. PRIOR ART automated mail delivery or conveying, sorting, and stacking systems, however, have exhibited several operational drawbacks or deficiencies along these procedural lines. For example, in accordance with a first known type of automated mail delivery or conveying, sorting, and stacking system, while such a system is capable of tracking, ascertaining, or determining the number of pieces or units of mail that have been conveyed, sorted, and delivered to predetermined sorting bins, such a system has nevertheless been unable to accurately determine the thickness of each individual piece or unit of mail and to correlate such information with the total number of detected and counted pieces or units of mail. In particular, the thickness dimension of each individual piece or unit of mail is usually estimated in some manner by some means. In accordance with a second type of automated mail delivery or conveying, sorting, and stacking system, the system does not predetermine the thickness dimension of each individual piece or unit of mail, but to the contrary, the system simply determines or senses the height of the entire stack of mail deposited within each individual sorting bin. For example, each sorting bin is provided or equipped with photocell systems which are accordingly activated when the stack of mail deposited within a particular sorting bin reaches or attains a predetermined height or level. This type of system is relatively expensive, however, in view of the fact that each sorting bin must be equipped with its own photocell detection system.
Systems also exist which are capable of determining thickness dimensions of, for example, flat mail pieces or units, however, such systems have not been employed for determining the thickness dimensions of individual pieces or units of mail such that the determined thickness dimensions can then be correlated or used in connection with the counted or detected number of individual pieces or mails so as to correspondingly determine the height of a stack of mail deposited within a particular sorting bin. For example, as disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,330 which issued to Schaal on Sep. 26, 2000, a suction separation system is utilized in connection with the conveyance of flat mail pieces, and the system utilizes a rotary potentiometer to determine the thickness dimension of each stack item wherein the thickness dimension is related to, or is a function of, the stack pressure which is suitably monitored, corrected, adjusted, and controlled. In a similar manner, as disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,692 which issued to Large et al. on Mar. 17, 1998, the thickness dimensions of envelopes is determined, however, such thickness dimensions are determined as a means for correspondingly determining whether or not any contents are present within a particular envelope. Still further, as disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,246 which issued to Kruger on Jan. 6, 1998, a raster gauge is used to determine the thickness dimensions of objects in order to, in turn, determine whether or not such objects can be subsequently handled by means of other machines or equipment located downstream within the overall processing or handling system. As disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,123 which issued to Tovini et al. on Aug. 24, 1993, a system is employed to determine thickness and length dimensions or parameters of envelopes whereby those envelopes which do not have length and thickness dimensions which are within a predetermined range of values are removed from the particularly disclosed handling system. Lastly, as disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,842 which issued to Tolmie, Jr. et al. on Sep. 4, 1990, there is disclosed a system for determining the thickness dimensions of mail pieces or units such that the mail pieces or units can be properly conveyed by means of a particular handling system in accordance with a predetermined velocity sequence or profile.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved thickness measuring device, and a method of using the same, for use within a mail handling system wherein the thickness measuring device can determine the thickness dimension of individual pieces or units of mail as the same are conveyed past the device, and such thickness information or data can be correlated with the number of scanned or detected pieces or units of mail which are being delivered to predetermined sorting bins so as to determine the precise number of mail pieces or units than can be deposited within a particular sorting or storage bin such that the stack of mail disposed, housed, or contained within the particular sorting or storage bin has a predetermined height dimension whereupon further conveyance of mail units or pieces to such sorting or storage bin can be terminated until such sorting or storage bin has been emptied or replaced.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved thickness measuring device, and a method of using the same, for determining the thickness dimensions of individual pieces or units of mail, and a mail handling, sorting, and stacking system incorporating the same therein, wherein the mail handling, sorting, and stacking system stacks a predetermined amount of mail within a sorting or storage bin.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved thickness measuring device, and a method of using the same, for determining the thickness dimensions of individual pieces or units of mail, and a mail handling, sorting, and stacking system, having the thickness measuring device incorporated therein, for stacking a predetermined amount of mail within a sorting or storage bin in accordance with techniques which effectively overcome the various operational deficiencies characteristic of PRIOR ART systems.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved thickness measuring device, and a method of using the same, for determining the thickness dimensions of individual pieces or units of mail, and a mail handling, sorting, and stacking system incorporating the same therein, wherein the thickness dimension data or information for each individual piece or unit of mail can be used in connection with the stacking of a predetermined amount of mail within a particular sorting or storage bin.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved thickness measuring device, and a method of using the same, for determining the thickness dimensions of individual pieces or units of mail, and a mail handling, sorting, and stacking system incorporating the same therein, wherein the thickness dimension data or information for each individual piece or unit of mail can be correlated with the number of detected or scanned pieces or units of mail such that a predetermined number of mail pieces or units can be stacked within a particular sorting or storage bin.
A last object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved thickness measuring device, and a method of using the same, for determining the thickness dimensions of individual pieces or units of mail, and a mail handling, sorting, and stacking system incorporating the same therein, wherein the thickness dimension data or information for each individual piece or unit of mail can be correlated with the number of detected or scanned pieces or units of mail such that a predetermined number of mail pieces or units can be stacked within a particular sorting or storage bin such that the stacked mail has a predetermined height dimension whereupon further deposits of mail within such sorting or storage bin are discontinued.
The foregoing and other objectives are achieved in accordance with the teachings and principles of the present invention through the provision of a new and improved thickness measuring device, a method of using the same, and a mail handling system in which the thickness measuring device is incorporated, wherein the thickness measuring device comprises a rotary encoder mounted upon a mounting bracket, and wherein further, a movable lever arm is fixedly connected to the rotary shaft of the rotary encoder. A first end of the lever arm has an idler wheel or roller mounted thereon which is adapted to be disposed in contact with, or encounter, mail pieces or units as the mail units or pieces are conveyed along a conveyor path. A hydraulic damper is disposed in contact with the first end of the lever arm, while a second opposite end of the lever arm is fixedly connected to a biasing return spring. As the mail pieces or units respectively encounter the idler wheel or roller of the lever arm, each mail piece or unit will cause deflection of the lever arm a predetermined amount, as controlled by means of the hydraulic damper and biasing return spring, in accordance with the thickness dimension of the particular mail piece or unit, and the deflection of the lever arm will accordingly cause rotation of the rotary shaft of the rotary encoder. The encoder impulse data, corresponding to the rotation of the rotary shaft of the rotary encoder and the deflection amount of the lever arm in accordance with the thickness of the particular piece or unit of mail, will be transmitted to a computer wherein software will effectively convert such impulse data into linear deflection amounts or thickness dimensions or parameters characteristic of the particular unit or piece of mail.
The computer software also keeps track of the particular pieces or units of mail, through means of, for example, suitable bar code reader (BCR) or optical character recognition (OCR) apparatus, and correlates the same with the calculated thickness data for each one of the mail pieces or units detected and encountered by means of the rotary encoder lever arm. Stacking storage capacity data for each sorting or storage bin is also pre-entered into the computer, and therefore, the computer can accordingly control the conveyor system such that when a predetermined number of units or pieces of mail, having a cumulative thickness dimension as determined by means of the computer as derived or calculated from the data supplied thereto from the rotary encoder, has been conveyed to a particular sorting or storage bin which has a predetermined mail piece or unit stacking or storage capacity which equals the cumulative thickness dimension or parameter of the predetermined number of detected or encountered pieces or units of mail, the convey- or will terminate further conveyance of mail to such sorting or storage bin until such sorting or storage bin has either been emptied or replaced by means of a correspondingly sized storage or sorting bin. The system is capable of being utilized in connection with the conveyance of substantially all types of mail including, but not limited to, envelopes, letters, catalogs, newspapers, magazines, greeting cards, and the like.